1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection method for performing recording by ejecting liquid such as ink onto various types of media such as paper, a liquid ejection apparatus and a liquid ejection head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among liquid ejection apparatuses, some apparatuses adopt a method for applying a recording property improvement liquid to a recording medium immediately before or after recording operation with an ink, especially for the purpose of higher-image quality or a higher level of fastness of recorded products. Generally, the recording property improvement liquid is colorless and transparent, and recording is performed by overlapping the recording property improvement liquid and the ink. Two liquids are mixed on the recording medium before being absorbed thereinto, and fixed thereon. According to this method, coloring property, water resisting property, reduction in bleeding, and the like of the recording liquid are improved to the recording medium. In particular, in a case where the recording medium is general plain paper on which an ink reception layer such as coating is not applied, recording with less bleeding becomes preferably possible.
When the recording property improvement liquid is ejected, a droplet that impacts on the recording medium (hereinafter, main droplet), and a sub-droplets which accompanies the main droplet and is smaller than the main droplet (hereinafter, satellites) are generated. Among the satellites, some ones with particularly minute particle size (hereinafter, mists) may float into a printer machine without impacting on the recording medium. The floating mist may adhere near an ejection port serving as an opening portion through which an ink is ejected, by an influence of an air stream generated between a liquid ejection head and the recording medium. The adhered mist may react with the ink and contaminate surroundings of the ejection port. In this case, the adhered mist may derange an ejection direction of the ink, and in some cases, it may clog and hinder the opening portion from ejecting the liquid.
To cope with such a problem, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-088468 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-272771 discuss a mechanism for recovering mists in order to prevent the mists from adhering to an orifice surface of the liquid ejection head where the ejection ports are formed.
However, either of these methods uses a means for recovering the mists after the mists have been generated, and all minute mists generated cannot be entirely recovered, while complicated air stream is generated within a recording apparatus. In a case of a large-sized liquid ejection head with a number of nozzles, since a large amount of improvement liquid will be ejected at the same time, mists of the improvement liquid floating without being recovered will be increased. In this case, it is difficult to avoid the improvement liquid from adhering to the orifice surface of the liquid ejection head.